The Chrysalis Backdoor: A Deep Dive into Lotus Blossom's toolkit
Essential information
- Published
- 03/02/2026 08:21
- Modified
- 03/02/2026 08:49
- Tags
- 2026-02-03 apt backdoor china chrysalis cobalt strike metasploit notepad obfuscation warbird
- Related entities
- 34 observables, 1 intrusion sets (apt), 3 malware, 7 others
Description
Rapid7 Labs has uncovered a sophisticated campaign attributed to the Chinese APT group Lotus Blossom, involving a new custom backdoor named Chrysalis. The attack compromised Notepad++ infrastructure to deliver the backdoor. Analysis revealed multiple custom loaders, including one using Microsoft Warbird for obfuscation. The Chrysalis backdoor has extensive capabilities for information gathering, file operations, and remote command execution. Additional artifacts found include Cobalt Strike beacons and Metasploit payloads. The campaign shows Lotus Blossom evolving its tactics, mixing custom and off-the-shelf tools with advanced obfuscation techniques to evade detection.